Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “authoritarianism”, alleging that the government was suppressing dissent through restrictions on protests and attempting to disenfranchise voters.
“First vote theft, then ‘theft of the right to protest’—this is proof of BJP’s authoritarianism,” Kharge said, referring to the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a protest site.
“No one will bow before the oppressive policies of Modi-Shah anymore,” he said, adding that the country will hold the BJP accountable for its actions.
Kharge alleged that those questioning the government were being jailed, young protesters were being beaten with batons and women demonstrators were facing police brutality. “Those who question power go to jail, youth get beaten with batons, forced detention, brutality from police against our daughters, open impunity for RSS thugs,” Kharge alleged.
The remark came amid protests in Delhi called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other political groups over alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Delhi Police deployed around 41,000 security personnel and detained nearly 7,000 people on October 10, while barricading Jantar Mantar and restricting access to 45 Metro stations.
The matter also reached the Supreme Court, where petitions challenged the restrictions imposed on protests and the detention of demonstrators and journalists.
Kharge also criticised Amit Shah over his reported characterisation of 133 million people excluded during the SIR exercise as “infiltrators”, saying,
“Declaring 13.3 crore Indians outside SIR as ‘infiltrator’ by the home minister is an insult to Indianness,” he said.